When natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or emergencies with injured persons in areas of difficult access happens, to act quickly is an essential factor. However, rescue teams have an added difficulty when there aren’t coverage for mobile phones. For this reason, researchers at the University of Alicante (UA) have developed an app that allows to locate these victims without need to have mobile coverage.
José Ángel Berná, the main driver of this technology, explains that this application “can be incorporated to any smartphone without mobile coverage, broadcast a Wifi signal, which acts as a mark of relief and can reach a distance of several kilometers. Among the data that facilitates this signal is the key to the success of the rescue, such as coordinates which fix the exact position of the user, as well as a message specifying if the person is wounded, needs help or if simply is lost. In addition, it could be sold for approximately 600 euros if it is adopted by a large number of rescue teams.
More information and contact: InnovaSpain
- Technology Offer: InnoUA
- Research Group: José Ángel Berná, Departamento de Física, Ingeniería de Sistemas y Teoría de la Señal, Escuela Politécnica Superior from the University of Alicante.